Machine for truing lumber.



No. 675,957. Patentedlune 25, l90l.

C. J. L. MEYER.

MACHINE FOR TRUINGLUMBER.

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-No. 676,957. Patented June 25, IBM. 0. J. L. MEYER. MACHINE FOR TRUINGLUMBER.

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No. 676,957, Patented June 25, I901. C. J. L. MEYER.

MACHINE FUR TRUING LUMBER.

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No.,676,957. Patented lune*25, I901. G. J. L. MEYER.

MACHINE FOB TRUING LUMBER.

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No. 676,957. Patented June 25, I90I.

G. J. L. MEYER. MACHINE FDR TBUING LUMBER.

(Application flled'Aug. 22, 1898.)

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CHARLES J. L. MEYER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MACHINE FOR TRUING LUMBER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 676,957, dated June 25,1901.

Application filed August 22, 1898- Serial No. 689,220. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES J. L. MEYER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ohicago, in the county of (look and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for TruingLumber, of which the following is a specification, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

The main objects of my invention are to take the wind out of lumber,particularly hard wood, and give it a true surface, and to do thisrapidly, economically, and without danger to workmen.

It consists of certain novel features of construction and combinationsof parts hereinafter particularly described, and pointed out in theclaims. 4

In the accompanying drawings like letters designate the same parts inthe several figures.

Figure l is a front elevation of a machine embodying my invention. Fig.2 is a plan View of the same, certain parts being broken away and shownin horizontal section. Fig. 3-is an end elevation as viewed from theleft with reference to Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinalsection on the line 4 4, Fig. 3, of a part of the machine. Fig. 5 is avertical cross-section on the line 5 5, Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is an enlargedhorizontal section on the line 6 6, Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is an enlargedverticalsection on the line 7 7, Fig. 2, of the rollerframe and one ofthe feed-rollers; and Figs. 8 and 9 are detail views, on agreatly-enlarged scale, of the planing-saw, Fig. 8 being a sideelevation of a portion of the saw-blade and Fig.9 a cross-section on theline 9 9,Fig. 8.

Referring to Figs. 1 to at, inclusive, A designates the main frame ofthe machine, which is provided with a vertically-adjustable horizontalworksupporting bed 13. It is formed or provided on the sides and endswith depending flanges which engage with upwardlyprojeeting parts of theframe, and thusguide and hold the bed in place.

O is a sliding frame which has horizontal bearings on the sides of frameA, as shown in Fig. 5, and is provided with wedges or inclines c 0, uponwhich rest wedges or inclines Z) Z) on the side flanges of the bed, asshown in Fig. 1. D is a screw which engages one end of said frame 0 andhas a bearing in the end of the main frame A for moving said frame 0longitudinally and raising or lowering the bed B.

E is a guide mounted upon the bed B lengthwise of the machine andprovided with arms or brackets c e, which project over the back side ofthe machine.

F F are screw-shafts supportedin bearings on the under side of the bedtransversely thereto and threaded at their rear ends in nuts fon theunder sides of the bracket 6, as shown in Fig. 5. The 'two screw-shaftsare connected by a longitudinal shaft F, which is provided at the endswith bevel-gears meshing with similar gears on said screw-shafts, asshown in Fig. 2. is extended and provided on the front side of themachine with a crank or hand wheel f, by means of which bothscrew-shafts are simultaneously turned, and the guide E is moved forwardor backward equally at both ends.

G is a cylindrical truing or planing saw mounted upon the upper end of averticallydisposed arbor g. It is formed on its upper edge with teethwhich are beveled outwardly and downwardly, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9.The arbor g is supported in boxes or bearings on a frame II, which isadjustable vertically in ways on a plate or frame I, as shown in Fig. 6.One of these ways is provided with a gib t' for taking up wear or play.The plate or frame I is adjustably attached to a cross piece or frame J,Which-is in turn adjustably attached to the sides of the main frame, sothat the saw-arbor is capable of angular adjustment both lengthwise andcrosswise of the machine. The bolt-holes through which the cross-frame Jis attached to the sides of the main frame A are slightly enlarged orelongated to allow said cross-frame to be slightly tipped orinclined ineither direction from a perpendicular when the bolts by which it is heldin place are loosened and the boltholes in the cross piece or frame .I,through which the plate I is secured thereto, are also enlarged orelongated, as indicated in Fig. 3, so as to permit said plate I, withits ways, to be tipped or inclined slightly in either direction from aperpendicular. The former adjustment is for the purpose of elevating theOne of the screw-shafts saw. to said slide and extending upwardlythereteeth on the front side of the saw slightly above the teeth on theback side with reference to the bed B, so that the work will clear theteeth on the back side of the saw, and thereby cause the work to be doneentirely by the teeth on the front side of the saw. The latteradjustment is for the purpose of leveling the saw crosswise withreference to the bed 13.

h is a vertical screw engaging a nut on the saw-frame H and having abearing on or attached to the cross-frame J. It is provided at its lowerend with a worm-gear h, which is engaged by a worm Won ahorizontal shaftwhich extends to the front side of the machine and is connected bybevel-gears with an upright shaft 72. provided at its upper end, withinconvenient reach of the attendant or operator, with a crank or handwheel, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. By means of the mechanism lastdescribed the saw may be easily and accurately adjusted vertically,andit is held rigidly in place when adjusted by the worm h which preventsthe screw it from turning. I

The saw-arbor g is provided between its bearin s with a ulle r, b meansof which a: P 3 J y itis driven.

K is a frame or slide movable up and down on vertical ways a, a onstandards A A 011 each side of the main frame opposite the is a screwfastened at its lower end from through and threaded in the hub of abevel gear L, which has a bearing in a crosspiece carried by the upperends of the standards A. L is a horizontal shaft carried by saidcross-piece and provided at its inner end with a bevel gear or pinion l,which meshes with the gear L, and at its outer end with a crank or handwheel Z. L is a like horizontal shaft carried by the opposite end ofsaid cross-piece and provided in like man-- ner at its inner end with abevel gear orpinion Z, meshing with the opposite side of the gear L, andat its outer end with a pulley Z through which the slide K may be raisedand lowered by power takenfrom any conveniently-located counter-shaft ordriving-pulley.

The machine may be provided with either or both of the power or manuallyoperated connections above mentioned for turning the gear L and raisingor lowering the slide K.

To the lower part of the slide K on each side of the machine is attacheda circular horizontal guide-plate M, fitted loosely inside of the saw G,as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. This guide-plate is provided on the underside with idle rollers m m, arranged crosswise of the machine andprojecting through openings in said plate slightly above its upper face,so as to facilitate the passage of lumber over said plate, whichprevents it from sagging inside of the saw.

N is a roller-frame adjustable vertically on ways an on the slide K. 'a'is a screw threaded in said roller-frame and having a bearing in theslide K. It is provided at its upper end with a bevel-gear, which isengaged by a similar gear on the inner or rear end of a short horizontalshaft 07?, carried by the slide K and provided at its front end withineasy reach of the attendant with a crank or hand wheel a as shown inFigs. 2 and 3.

O 0 are feed-rollers journaled in and carried by inverted-U-shaped yokesP P, which are each yieldingiy and adjustably connected with theroller-frame N, as shown in Fig. 7, by means of a screw 1), threadedcentrallyin the upper part of the yoke and passing upwardly therefromloosely through a hollow screw 19, which is externally threaded in theroller-frame, nuts p on the screw 19 above the screw 19, and a spring 19interposed between the yoke]? and a washer, against which the lower endof the screw 1) abuts. Each of the feed-rollers, which is carrieddirectly above and parallel with one of the rollers m in the guide-plateM, is allowed to yield u-pwardly independently of the other against thetension of the spring 19 and either may be adjusted verticallyindependently of the other by means of the hollow screw 19'. The tensionof the spring 29 may also be adjusted by turning the nuts 19 up or downupon the screw 1). The shafts of the two feed-rollers are provided atone end with sprocket-wheels 0 0, which are connected by a chain belt 0,as shown in Fig. 2.

Q is a shaft carried by the slide K, parallel with the feed-rollers 0.It is provided with a sprocket-wheel g, which is connected bya chainbelt q with a sprocket-wheel g on the shaft of the adjacent roller, asshown in Figs. 2 and 4:. It is also providedat its rear end with abevel-gear g meshing with a similar gear or pinion a", which isjournaled in a bearing formed or provided therefor in a part of theslide K.

Ris an upright shaft passingloosely through the gear or pinion 7', butprevented from turning therein by a spline, key, or feather, as shown inFigs. 2 and 3. At or nearits lower end the shaft R is provided with abevel-gear 9", which meshes with a similar gear or pinion 5 on ahorizontal cross-shaft S.

T is a driving-shaft carried by bearings in the main frame substantiallyparallel with the shaft S and provided with a pulley t, by which it isdriven from any convenient source. It is also provided with a paper orother suit-' able friction driving-wheel t, which is adapt ed to bemoved into and out of engagement with a friction-wheel s on the shaft S.The front end of the shaft T, next to its frictiondriver t, is supportedin an eccentric sleeve or box u, to which is attached a lever U, asshown in Fig. 1, for throwing said frictiondriver into and out ofcontact with the friction-wheel s.

V is a presser-roller carried over the bed E, adjacent to the saw, byone end of a vertically-swinging arm or frame 12, which is pivoted orhinged at its opposite and upper end to an overhanging cross-rod w,supportedat its rear end by a bracket W, attached to the back side ofbed B.

X is a leaf or plate supported at its ends in horizontal grooves or waysin the slide K at a level with the guide-plate M for the purpose ofsupporting the lumber as it leaves the saw and passes out of themachine. It is readily removable from the slide K, and when. it iswithdrawn and said slide, with the feed-rollers and their drivingconnections, is raised the saw G can be readily detached and removedfrom the machine for sharpening or repairs or for the substitution ofanother saw. Both the bed B and the leaf X are shaped adjacent to thesaw to conform therewith, as shown in Fig. 2.

The machine operates asfollows: The lumpressed down by the feed-rollers0 against the rollers m in the guide-plate M, and thereby held in placeadjacent to the cutting edge of the saw. The feed-rollers beingcomparatively short and the guide E being adjusted,

so as to cause them to bear on the lumber approximately in the center,thesaw will make a cut varying in depth according to the wind andinequalities in the under surface of the lumber, thus tending to takeout the wind and inequalities and to produce a true plane. The saw isaccurately leveled crosswise by the angular adj ustment of the plate Iand its Ways on the cross piece or frame J, and it is adj usted so thatits teeth on the side toward the delivery end of the machine will runjust below the upper faces of the guide-plate M and leaf X, and thusclear the lumber passing over it, while the teeth on the opposite sidenext to the bed B will project slightly above the guide-plate Mapproximately on a level with the upper sides of the rollers m. Thisadjustment is made by first lowering the plate M into its normal orworking position, where it is preferably supported at the ends by themain frame A, and then raising or lowering the saw by means of theadjusting-screw 7t and its operating connections, the desiredinclination being given to the saw and its arbor by the angularadjustment of the cross piece or frame J between the sides of the mainframe. WVhentheforegoingadjustmentshave been properly made, the bed B israised or lowered by means of the adjusting-screw D, so as to cause thesaw to make a cut of the desired depth, according to the condition ofthe lumber, a slight or shallow out being made when it is only slightlyirregular or out of true and a deeper out being made when it is morewinding, irregular, or out of true. The feed-rollers are raised orlowered simultaneously, according to the thickness of the diameter,having a blade about one-quarter of an inch thick and about one hundredteeth inclined or beveled at the points about oneeighth of an inch, issuitable for general use, although these dimensions may be varied. Sucha saw may be run at the rate of about one thousand revolutions perminute and the lumber fed thereto at about the rate of one hundred feetper minute. This would cause each tooth to cut in advance of theadjacent tooth about one eighty third of an inch. While the lumber isthus very rapidly fed through the machine, it is at the same timeaccurately and smoothly trued and dressed, and under ordinary conditionsthe surface left by the truing-saw is sufficiently smooth to be finishedon a sanding-machine without further planing.

I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact detailsof construction herein shown and described except in respect to thespecific claims therefor, as they may be variously modified within thespirit and intended scope of my invention.

Although for reasons above explained a planing-saw of the constructionshown and described is preferably employed, the advantages of othernovel features of construction and arrangement of parts embodied. in mymachine may be secured in connection with other forms of rotary planingor' truing cutters when such cutters are employed in substantially thesame relation to other parts of the machine.

I claim- 1. In a machine for truing lumber the combination withasuitable frame provided with a vertically-adj ustable slide, of aplaner-head mounted upon the upper end of a vertical arbor and havingcutting edges on its upper side, a horizontal guide-plate carried bysaid slide inside of the cutting edges of the planerhead and afeed-roller also carried by said slide above said guide-plate,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In a machine for truing lumber the combination with a suitable frame,of a planerhead mounted therein upon the upper end of a vertical arborand having cutting edges on its upper side, a slide carried by verticalways on said frame, means for raising and lowering said slide, aroller-frame carried by vertical ways on said slide, and provided withvertically yielding feed rollers above the planer-head, means foradjusting said rollerframe Vertically on said slide, and a horizontalguide-plate adapted to be carried by said slide inside of the cuttingedges of the planerhead below the feed-rollers, substantially as and forthe purposes set forth.

3. In a machine for truing lumber the combination with a suitable frameprovided with a vertically-movable slide, of a planer-head mounted upona Vertical arbor and having cutting edges on its upper side, averticallyyielding feed-roller carried by said slide above theplaner-head, a horizontal shaft also carried by said slide parallel withthe roller-shaft and connected therewith by a chain belt andsprocket-wheels, a vertical power-transmitting shaft passinglooselythrough and having a'sliding connection with a bevel-gear whichis carried by said slide in mesh with a bevelgear on said horizontalshaft, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. In a machine for truing lumber the combination with a main frameprovided with a horizontal work-supportin g bed, of an upright Icross-frame adjustably attached to the main mounted upon said ways andprovided with vertically-disposed bearings for the planerarbor, aplaner-head mounted upon the upper end of said arbor and having cuttingedges on its upper side, a screw for adjusting the planer-framevertically and a shaft provided with a worm engaging a worm-gear on saidscrew for turning the same and looking it in place, substantially as andfor the purposes set forth.

5. In a machine for truing lumber the combination with the main frameprovided with a horizontal work-supporting bed, and withvertically-disposed ways capable of angular adjustment both lengthwiseand crosswise of the machine, of a planer-frame mounted upon said waysand provided with a vertically-disposed arbor, and a planer-head mountedupon the upper end of said arbor and having cutting edges on its upperside, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. In a machine for truing lumber'the combination with a main frameprovided with a horizontal work-supporting bed, of avertically-adjustable planer-frame provided with a vertically-disposedarbor, a planer-head mounted upon the upper end of said arbor andprovided with cutting edges on its upper side, a verticalscrew engaginga nut on said planer-frame and having a bearing in a part of the mainframe, a horizontal shaft provided with a worm engaging a worm-gear onsaid screw, and an upright shaft connected at its lower end with saidhorizontal shaft by bevel-gears and provided at its upper end withineasy reach ofthe attendantwith means for turning it, substantially asand for the purposes set forth.

7. In a machine for truing lumber the combination with a suitable frameprovided with ahorizontal work-supportin g bed, of a planerhead mountedupon the upper end of a vertical arbor and having cutting edges on itsupper side, a vertically-movable slide above the saw, means for raisingand lowering said slide, a guide carried by said slide inside of thecutting edges of the planer-head, a rollerframe adjustable vertically onsaid slide and provided with one or more feed-rollers arranged above andtransversely to said guide, a screw engaging said roller-frame andhaving a bearing in said slide, and a crank-shaft carried by said slideand connected by gears with said screw for turning it, substantially asand for the purposes set forth.

8. In a machine for truing lumber the combination with a suitable frameprovided with a horizontal work-supporting bed, of a planerhead mountedupon the upper end of an upright arbor and provided on its upper sidewith cutting edges, a vertically-movable slide above the planer-head,means for raising and lowering said slide, a guide carried by said slidewithin the cutting edges of the planerhead, a vertically-adjustableroller-frame carried by said slide above said guide, means for adjustingsaid roller-frame vertically on said slide, feed-rollers havingvertically-yield ing hearings in said roller-frame and means for drivingsaid rollers, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

9. In a machine for truing lumber the combination with a suitable frameprovided with a horizontal work-supporting bed, of a planerhead mountedon the upper end of a vertical arbor, a vertically-movable slideoverhanging said planer-head, a guide carried by said slide abovetheplaner-head within its cutting edges, a roller-frame mounted andvertically adjustable in said slide above said guide, a feed-roller, ayoke provided with bearings for said roller, a tubular screw externallythreaded in the roller-frame, a screw secured at its lower end to saidyoke and passing loosely through said tubular screw and provided aboveit with an adjusting-nut, and a spiral spring interposed between saidyoke and the lower end of said tubular screw, substantially as and forthe purposes set forth.

10. In a machine for truing lumber the combination with a suitable frameprovided with a horizontal bed, of a planer-head mounted upon the upperend of a vertical arbor and having cutting edges on its upper side, avertically-movable slide mounted on ways rising from the sides of theframe on opposite sides of the planer-head, means for raising andlowering said slide, a guide carried by said slide above saidplaner-head within its cutting edges, a verticallyadjustable rollerframecarried by said slide, Vertically and independently yieldingfeed-rollers carried by said roller-frame over said guide and connectedwith each other by a chain belt and sprocket-wheels, and apower-transmitting shaft connected by a chain belt and sprocketwheelswith one of the roller-shafts, whereby either or both of thefeed-rollers is allowed to rise and fall without efiect on their drivingIIO I0 and a detachable leaf carried in a horizontal position by saidslide on the delivery side of the saw, substantially as and for thepurposes set forth.

In Witness whereof I hereto afliX my signature in presence of twoWitnesses.

CHARLES J. L. MEYER.

W'itnesses:

H. P. MEYER, CHAS. F. MURPHEY.

